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Radio masts/towers: Aesthetics and practicality
former_member 665840 posted a topic in General Off-Topic
Lately I've been thinking about the relationships between telecommunications masts/towers and their surrounding environments. They can easily fall into the NIMBY category, but I believe that the positive possibilities they present are often not even considered. Considering the amount of vertical real estate they bring with them, I'm much more fond of masts that are not strictly limited to telecommunications purposes (compared to ones that are). There's a plethora of things to do with that space, ranging from commerce/leisure/tourism (e.g. shops, restaurants, theatres, observation decks), ecological integration (e.g. artificial nesting for birds and other flight-capable creatures like bats, sky gardens), electricity (e.g. PV1 panel arrays, potentially even small-scale CSP2), miscellaneous utilities (e.g. active closed-loop SWH3 systems for heated water, something that could be useful for urban areas situated in colder climates - especially so if most of the area's water mains run beneath roads and railways)... all sorts of nifty stuff. For practicality, two examples would be the Stuttgart TV Tower and the Tokyo Skytree. As for aesthetics, an example would be San Francisco's Sutro Tower; There was quite an amount of opposition from its proposal to after its completion, but today (for the most part) it's considered one of the Bay Area's landmarks. Personally - while I think there's a lot more to be done with it - I agree. It already gains points for its unique appearance (in other words, not looking like an excessively-long support girder jutting up from the ground with a plethora of cables tethering it to the ground). Heck, it's even colour-coordinated with the nearby Golden Gate Bridge courtesy of air safety regulations (even if the specific shades of orange slightly differ). If you don't know what to reply with, here's a question: What's your favourite telecom mast, if any (or multiple)? Ones that have been destroyed, demolished, or exist as concepts are also allowed. 1. Photovoltaic 2. Concentrated solar power 3. Solar water heating
